Out Of My Mind

Album: Wonderful Wonderful (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Brandon Flowers' wife Tana suffers from anxiety and depression and was diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder following a difficult childhood. In 2015, Flowers canceled a string of tours for his solo album, The Desired Effect, after his wife's depression became severe, so he could go home to look after her. A number of songs on Wonderful Wonderful are about her condition. Flowers told UK's The Sun that writing personal songs such as "Rut" " Life To Come " and "Out of My Mind" has helped.

    "People are getting more informed on mental health and raising awareness and changing the stigma," he said. "This can only be a good thing. I think there is a power in talking about it. Addressing it on these songs wasn't easy, but it feels powerful.

    "I've never been prone to those feelings," Flowers added. "I've been relatively unscathed. A lot of people that are artists probably had a lot different upbringing to what I had."
  • Flowers mentions in the song a Paul McCartney encounter:

    So I told you about McCartney
    And that's a heavy name to drop
    You say you don't need confirmation
    But I don't know if I can stop


    Brandon Flowers explained to NME: "New Year's Eve we played a party in St. Barts and we heard he was coming so we practiced Helter Skelter and we got him on stage to sing it with us. His daughter was filming and wanted me to say something but I was too emotional."
  • There's also a lyric on the track about Tana being unimpressed by a Springsteen story.

    Went back to back with Springsteen
    You turned and rolled your eyes


    Flowers explained: "I sang 'Thunder Road' by Bruce Springsteen - I was trying to impress my wife, but she just wants me to be a good person, so she's not that impressed."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

David Bowie Leads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men

David Bowie Leads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired MenSong Writing

Bowie's "activist" days of 1964 led to Ziggy Stardust.

Jeff Trott

Jeff TrottSongwriter Interviews

Sheryl Crow's longtime songwriting partner/guitarist Jeff Trott reveals the stories behind many of the singer's hits, and what its like to be a producer for Leighton Meester and Max Gomez.

Crystal Waters

Crystal WatersSongwriter Interviews

Waters tells the "Gypsy Woman" story, shares some of her songwriting insights, and explains how Dennis Rodman ended up on one of her songs.

Christmas Songs

Christmas SongsFact or Fiction

Rudolf, Bob Dylan and the Singing Dogs all show up in this Fact or Fiction for seasonal favorites.

Vince Clarke

Vince ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

An original member of Depeche Mode, Vince went on to form Erasure and Yaz.

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular Music

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular MusicSong Writing

Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.